Home prices rise despite slower sales

B.C. among provinces to see record averages during quarter

Province

OTTAWA -- Sales of existing homes slowed in the third quarter, while prices continued to rise, a report from the Canadian Real Estate Association says.

The group said yesterday there was a seasonally-adjusted rate of 129,451 homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service in the three months ended in September, down 3.2 per cent from a record second quarter. Fewer sales in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec led the decline.

Sales, however, picked up in B.C. and records were set in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Year-to-date sales to the end of September totalled 419,342, up 8.4 per cent over the same period in 2006.

The average third-quarter price of MLS resales -- which do not include newly-built homes or properties sold independently by owners -- was $308,543, up 11.7 per cent from a year earlier. Record averages were reached in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

There were a seasonally adjusted 213,547 new listings on the market in the last quarter, down 0.2 per cent from a record amount one quarter earlier.

"Over the long haul, the increase in listings combined with the slight decline in sales activity means a strong and stable real-estate market, and that is good for both buyers and sellers," said CREA president Ann Bosley.

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YEAR-TO-DATE FIGURES

Sales (annual change)

Average price (annual change)

B.C. -- 82,715 (5%); $435,892 (12.4%)

Alberta -- 59,644 (0.3%) $356,611 (27.5%)

Saskatchewan -- 9,836 (34.8) $169,926 (29.1%)

Manitoba -- 11,217 (7.2%) $168,421 (12.2%)

Ontario -- 171,272 (10%) $296,049 (6.5%)

Quebec -- 63,659 (12.1%) $205,995 (6.8%)

New Brunswick -- 6,538 (17.2%) $137,527 (8.7%)

Nova Scotia -- 9,580 (12.1%) $182,741 (7.4%)

P.E.I. -- 1,289 (16.7%) $131,896 (7.4%)

Newfoundland & Labrador -- 3,145 (20.5%) $148,035 (5.5%)

Yukon -- 304 (-1%) $237,567 (19.7%)

N.W.T.-- 143 (11.7%) $319,069 (11.9%)

© The Vancouver Province 2007